The Chance of a Lifetime
by Pepper9873
Summary: Fourteen year old B'Elanna Torres is an aspiring equestrian. One day the mare B'Elanna is leasing has her first foal, but the foal has a genetic disorder, and it's owner wants to put him down. Better summary inside. Revised with a rating change.
1. Chapter 1

Original A/N: It had to be done, the story was screaming at me to upload it. Please let me know what you think of it. P.S. I was unsure if my summary was too long to be in the 'Summary' box, so I'm also posting it here. If it isn't, I'll take it out later. Also, there is no such thing as 'Hendried Syndrome' it's something I made up.

A/N: I made a few changes to this chapter, first off being I switched it to a first person view. I also added a few more details, and fixed the grammer and spelling errors.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in the story, they are the respectful property of Paramount, I just write stories about them.

Summary: Fourteen year old B'Elanna Torres is an aspiring equestrian, and has always enjoyed the ancient sport of Horse Racing. One day, B'Elanna gets the chance to be a part of the action when the Thoroughbred mare she's leasing has her first foal. But the foal has a rare genetic disorder, and his owner wants to put him down. Can B'Elanna save the foal, and does the foal have what it takes to be a champion racehorse?

* * *

I woke up just as the sun was rising above Kessik VI. I hopped out of bed, and quickly dressed. When I finished, I carefully walked past my sleeping mother's bedroom, and into the kitchen. I grabbed a quick breakfast- I really wasn't that hungry anyway- and entered the cool morning air. I walked briskly into the dimly lit barn behind the house, and was greeted by the whinnies of hungry horses. I breathed in deeply, filling my lungs with the scent of hay and leather.

I entered the feed room and began to measure out each horses' breakfast. "Ace needs two cups of oats." I said to myself as I poured the food into a bucket marked 'Ace'. When I finished, I brought two buckets at a time out into the aisle. "Here you go Bo," I said to my father's old Friesian/Quarter Horse gelding.

When I had finished, I went back outside. I went under the pasture fence, and walked back over to the barn. To save time, each stall had a door that led into the pasture. I unlocked everyone, then went back inside the house to get my homework before heading off to school.

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School didn't fly by as quickly as I had hoped. First I missed my second period, due to an un-foreseen obstacle; Daniel Byrd. He had decided that today was the day he would try to block me from getting to my locker; I punched him in the nose, sending him to the nurse's office, while I got a detention slip. Then as if that weren't enough, my English teacher bogged me down with more homework then I had gotten the day before from all of my teachers.

_'School is torture.' _I decided as I walked home.

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I decided to make a quick stop at a neighboring farm, to check on Phantom Lady, the mare I leased.

Phantom Lady, a.k.a Lady, was a lovely, chestnut, Thoroughbred mare. She used to race, but was retired when she was four, after suffering a minor injury on the track. After being retired, she was trained for eventing.

Her owner, Mister Leoni, had been teaching me how to ride since I was four. When he decided to lease Phantom Lady, I was the first person he asked. I had eagerly accepted, after being able to convince my mother to let me, which was hard to do. I had plenty of horses at home -I knew-, but they were not jumping at the level I was at.

Early that year, Phantom Lady was bred to a stallion named I'm a Bandit, and was now close to delivering her first foal.

As I reached the pasture that Phantom Lady was in, I could hear her whinnying, but it sounded like she was in distress. I ran as fast as I could, and finally reached the fence. I peeked over it, and could see Phantom Lady lying under a tree. Looking closer, I could see that she was in labor, and the foal was already half way out.

"Mister Leoni!" I called as I ran towards the main house.

"What's wrong?" Mister Leoni asked as he walked out of the house.

Mister Leoni was around my mother's age, early to mid forties; I couldn't tell since neither he, nor my mother, liked to disclose their age. He was prematurely grey -or so he says- in some spots. Where his hair wasn't grey, it was a light brown. His eyes were the same color as his hair, and his skin was a healthy tan around his semi-muscular, 6'1" frame.

"It's Lady, she's having her foal," I replied after a few seconds.

"Alright, you go back, I' going to get my foaling kit and I'll be right with you."

I nodded and ran off back towards the pasture. When I reached it, I was too late. Lady laid lifeless under the tree, in a heap next to her, was her newborn foal. Tears started to fill my eyes as I went over to the tree. I did my best to force them back, but it was proving to be too hard of a task.

I took the jacket I was wearing off, and wrapped it around the wet foal to protect it from the December air. Thankfully, the foal was alert. It looked up at me with pleading blue eyes. I had never seen blue eyes in a Thoroughbred, and they captivated me. I sat down next to the foal, and pulled it gently into my lap. I hugged the foal close to me, and cried into its coat.

Mister Leoni finally came back with his foaling kit. He stopped short when he saw his beloved mare. He mustered the strength to continue, and bent down under the fence. When he was directly behind me, he lowered to his knees to comfort me. I jolted when he placed his hand around my shoulder, but allowed the contact.

"Let's get that foal cleaned up," he whispered, unable to bring his voice higher.

I handed the foal to him. We both grabbed some towels out of the foaling kit, and began to rub the foal dry. "Boy or girl?" I asked, barely able to get my voice above a whisper.

"Boy."

"What's going to happen to him?"

"I'm going to have the vet check him tomorrow, but I don't think he'll live past then."

"Why not?"

"See those blue eyes of his? They're a warning sign of Hendried Syndrome."

"What's that?"

"It's a genetic mutation found in some Thoroughbreds. It causes them to grow bigger than they normally would; it also causes deformities in their legs."

"Can the deformities be treated?" From the sound of his voice, I could tell that, to Mister Leoni, the foal's future was bleak.

"Yes, but it's just not worth the effort. Those lucky few who have had their legs treated, never amounted to anything. Most owners don't have the time for a useless horse: so, when they have a foal with Hendried Syndrome, they just have it humanely put down."

"You wouldn't do that would you?" I said in disbelief.

"B'Elanna, it's better for the colt this way."

"Who says it is?" I screamed, my temper getting the best of me.

"Calm down."

"No! You're going to put down a helpless foal, who happens to be Lady's only offspring! You're not even going to give him a chance!"

"B'Elanna, I have worked with horses for over thirty years, and I have loved every single horse I have met. But in this business, you have to sometimes make tough decisions, but what matters is what's best for the horse," Mister Leoni scolded. His face was showing that this was just as hard for him as it was for me.

"Just give him a chance, please. You don't even have to take care of him, I will. I'll treat his legs, I'll clean his stall, I'll feed him through out the day."

"There is no way your mother is going to allow you to skip school to take care of a foal."

"Please, just give him a chance, please." I hated begging, but in the current situation, it was necessary.

Mister Leoni stood there in silence.

"Alright, but you're only allowed to be with him overnight on Friday and Saturday, holidays, Summer Vacation, or any other day you have school off for at least two days. You also have to have your mother's permission first."

"Thank you, thank you!" I screamed as I wrapped my arms around Mister Leoni.

"You're welcome. Now go home, I'll get him into a stall and when you come back, you can feed him."

* * *

A/N: For those of you who may not know horse lingo, here is a guide.

Stallion: A male horse of breeding age

Mare: A female horse of breeding age

Colt: A male horse under breeding age

Gelding: A male horse of any age that is rendered unable to breed.

Whinny: The sound that a horse makes, most may know it as 'neigh'.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry for not updating in such a long time. I've actually had this one done for a couple of months now, but I didn't think it was going to be long enough, so I held out on it. I'm not really sure how believable this chapter is, so don't be afriad to tell me so. I can take it. Please review.

* * *

I reached my house in a matter of minutes, since I didn't live that far from Mister Leoni's farm. I waited outside the front door, contemplating on whether I should go inside, or just lie to Mister Leoni. I went with the first option, and slowly opened the door.

"Mom?" I called as I peeked my head through the threshold.

"'Lanna, where were you?" She seemed to come out of nowhere; an ability you must get once you have children. "I've told you before: if you go somewhere else besides school, you have to tell me. You had me worried. I contacted the school; they said you had detention, then left."

_Great, _I thought._ She's going to want an explanation for my detention sentence._

"I can explain," I offered weekly.

"Then start." She was clearly upset, and her thick, Klingon accent just helped accentuate the fact.

"I punched Daniel Byrd in the hall," I confessed. She was going to get the truth out of me one way or another, and it was easier just to come out with it.

"You punched him?" Her voice went up an octave.

"He was blocking my locker, and he wouldn't leave."

"So you punched him?"

"Well, what would you have done?" This conversation was not going well. I had crossed the line when I questioned _her_. Now there was no way she would let me take care of Lady's colt.

She drew in a really deep breath, something she rarely did. "I probably would have done the same," she finally said. "But that doesn't mean I'm saying it's alright to punch your classmates."

"I get it, mom."

She walked off into the living room. I decided to let her cool off for a bit before I asked her my next question. She sat down on the couch; I figured now would be as good a time as any.

"Mom, may I ask you something?"

"Alright." She turned to look at me.

"You see, I was at Mister Leoni's house before I came here. And Lady had her foal, but she died."

"I'm sorry to hear that, 'Lanna. I know she meant a lot to you."

"She really did." I could feel the tears starting to sting the back of my eyes. "Anyway, the foal survived. However, Mister Leoni was going to put him down, and I managed to convince him not to. He said I could take care of the foal as long as it was okay with you. So, may I?"

"You're asking me about a horse on the same day you get detention."

"It's one detention. Other then that everything's fine. My grades are some of the best this year, and my homework is done long before it's due…"

My mother remained silent as she assessed my argument.

"What would it imply?"

"Overnight stays with the colt. But not on school nights; Mister Leoni made that perfectly clear."

Once again, she was silent.

"Fine," she said. "You can take care of the foal _only_ if you keep your grades up. And don't forget to take care of your other horses; if you don't, I'm not keeping them." She was definitely serious; she had wanted to get rid of them the day my father left.

"Not a problem," I replied with a smile. I hugged my mother around her neck. "Thanks, mom."

"You're welcome," she said as she gently patted my left arm.

My body was tingling with excitement. I released my hold on my mother, and ran for the door; I didn't want to give her the option to change her mind.

"'Lanna," she called over her shoulder, right before my hand reached the door.

_Darn, not fast enough. _I turned around slowly. "Yeah?"

"How did Daniel fair?"

"I gave him a bloody nose."

"Shows him," she said with a semi-wicked smile.

At first, I was taken back by her comment, then I remembered that she was the type of person that enjoyed hearing those types of things.

*

My legs felt like they were about to burst from the extra energy being made by my over-powering delight. I began to run back to Mister Leoni's farm. The faster I ran, the better it felt. As I went, I barely noticed the scenery passing by, and I reached my destination without realizing that I had. It was as if I was running on auto-pilot.

I reached the barn that held the mares and their foals. I began to walk down the rows of horses. I finally reached the stall I wanted. Before I went in, I ran my hand over the bronze nameplate with the name 'Phantom Lady' engraved into it.

I entered the stall, and Lady's colt looked up at me. He was wearing a blue blanket that was the same color as his eyes, and a matching halter. His coat was completely black. I had thought that he would have a bay coat once he got dry; I have been wrong before.

I sat down in the straw, and pulled the colt into my lap. At first, he seemed startled when my arms went around him. He began to relax as I gently combed through his short mane with my fingers.

Mister Leoni came in shortly, carrying a huge bottle full of milk supplement.

"Has he stood up yet?" I asked.

"No. But you can tell he wants to; he's been trying ever since you left."

"What do we do?"

"We'll let him rest for awhile, since he tired himself out. Then we'll help him onto his feet." Mister Leoni handed me the bottle, and I placed it near the colt's mouth. He didn't seem to know what to do with it, then quickly began to suck the fluid out.

I focused my attention on tilting the bottle at the right angles, instead of letting my mind think of what would happen if the colt never stood up.

"Have you thought of any names?" Mister Leoni asked.

"No, why?"

"The colt needs a name."

I pondered names for a few seconds until one finally stuck. "Phantom Bandit," I whispered so softly that no one else could have heard.

"What?"

"Phantom Bandit," I repeated louder.

Mister Leoni nodded. "I like it. Has a certain… air about it. Now, how about we try to get 'Bandit' up and walking?"

I nodded, and placed the empty bottle next to me. Then I carefully slid Bandit off my lap and onto the straw. I stood up, dusted myself off a bit, and waited for Mister Leoni's instructions.

"Alright, he's probably still hungry since I only gave him half of what he should be eating."

"Why would you do that?" I asked.

"Because, we're going to use the other half as a lure to get him walking." He picked another bottle of the floor, handed it to me, then motioned me to hold it out in front of me. I held it there, just of reach of Bandit's muzzle.

**Bandit's P.O.V.**

I craned my neck to get the object that had food in it, but the girl kept it away from me. "Come on, Bandit. You can do it," she said.

I didn't know what she was talking about, and not being able to eat was making me frustrated. I nickered to her, hoping that she would just let me have it. But she didn't. She stood there, object still in hand, and just stared at me pleadingly. I tried a different tactic. Slowly, I tried to get my legs underneath me.

"That's it. Good boy." She smiled.

My legs were shaky as I attempted to keep them where I had placed them. I couldn't keep them in place for long, and I fell back down. I shook my head, and tried again. I wobbled again, but remained standing.

"You did it!" Her smile grew wider. "He did it!" she said to the man beside her.

I took a few cautious steps toward her. My legs felt like they were going to give in again for several steps, but never did. I got to her and greedily sucked on the object.

She stroked my mane softly. "I knew you could do it."


End file.
